In a setting reserved for the most special of occasions,
THE TEA PARTY regaled Adelaide devotees for the
anniversary of their acclaimed album [TRIPtych].

Written by: Belinda Quick
Photos by: Samuel Phillips >> SEE PHOTOS

As crowds came in from the cold, welcoming was the warmth of the unique surroundings of Norwood Town Hall. Lacquered wooden beams ran underfoot and chairs aligned parallel to the baroquely framed stage, pressed tin ceilings stately and fitting for such a rich concert experience. A charming change of scenery, this was no typical event; tonight’s hum in the air resonant that this would be special.

Eclectically named and personably matched in delivery of “alternative bass music… from rock to hip-hop”, HUMAN KEBAB ushered us in, double-dropping Darth Vader's ‘Imperial March’ to CHEMICAL BROTHERS ‘Galvanize’. Over the opening course carouselled classics - JANE'S ADDICTION ‘Been Caught Stealing’ to urbanised reinterpretations of VIOLENT FEMME'S classic, ‘Blister in the Sun’.

Hailing from Canada and sharing an accolade of Juno nominations, Jason Parsons aka HUMAN KEBAB, “turntablist/hype man” of UBIQUITY SYNERGY SEEKER, knew this evening’s assignment. Acknowledging the ever-growing crowd, “everyone here for The Tea Party”, his emphasis on rockier samplings from synonymous eras segued between TOOL and RATM, suddenly into SMASHING PUMPKINS and NIN forming a collective ‘Bittersweet Symphony’.

It is a frequent practice in this country to embrace as our own those which and whom we adore. From alabaster cakes to ‘heavenly star’ celebrities, by far my favourite national misassociation is Canada's THE TEA PARTY. Perhaps my own cognitive dissonance, intrinsically connected to the band's love of and expansive touring history here, it is perhaps the musical Mandela Effect at play.

A fittingly worldly analogy, this is a band that defies traditional parameters of time, place and space. More than three decades since their debut release, visiting last in 2019 and another two years prior in celebration of 20 years of Transmission, tonight was a celebration of the depth and breadth of THE TEA PARTY'S most acclaimed album, [TRIPtych] turning 25 years young.

In a style so distinctly theirs, middle-eastern enchantments played, as Jeff Martin's silhouette swept a hand causing the seated to rise. Mandolin swapped for double neck guitar, the incorporation of our fair city into Halcyon Days’ lyrics elicit wild screams. The first of many to come, Stuart Chatwood the man-in-black, as striking as Jeff Burrows’ drumkit, even the appearance of roadie Kenny becoming Martin’s haphazard coatstand conjured wolf whistles.

With reckless abandon rising, figuratively and physically, bodies packed the aisles like ‘The Bazaar’ foretold in just the second song. Offering the first insight into the emotional well of [TRIPtych]’s meaning, spending a lifetime together traversing the world, “if you ever feel you've figured it all out, life's no longer worth living”. We embrace upon command the message of ‘Underground’, take a brief ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ along the way, and commit to live this night to its absolutest.

The exuberance of youth still wanting it all, ‘Psychopomp’ changes Transmission momentarily, before a commissary dedication from ‘The Messenger’ for a dear friend who lost their mother after a long illness just today. A self-professed “proudest moment” in amongst a phenomenal catalogue, the time was here and ‘Gone’ in a beautiful instant. [TRIPtych]’s conclusion thankfully only the halfway point of our evening, with Martin's lifetime anecdotes and ‘Loving Arms’ around us, we carried on.

“A wise man once told me, you cannot have the light without a little bit of darkness, so here comes the dark.” Ominous foretelling, matched by a cello bow drawn across electric guitar strings in contemporary gothic, ‘Save Me’ encourages a stampede of feet closer to the idols on stage. A “fucking fantastic” echoed ending, seeming for an instant reminiscent of a closing track tonight.

Thankfully the night was still left to be lived and next THE TEA PARTY'S first number one hit, known from the moment Martin wrote it, ‘Heaven's Coming Down’, could not have been a more beauteous reminder. Goosebumps on warm bodies peaked, as the most moving rendition of U2’s ‘With or Without You’ was offered and accepted with every emotional reaction imaginable, an incorporated epic-within-epic rejoining their own original seamlessly.

“Black magic” to be sure, Martin misdirects before leading us in ‘Temptation’. A religious rendition of the cult favourite, ‘Sister Awake’, is accompanied in encore by the band’s infamous cover of ROLLING STONES’ supernova, ‘Paint It Black’, & DAVID BOWIE'S ‘Heroes’ careens back, as it has done so intricately many times tonight. A demonstration of “absolute power”, and fantasised ending, all of the stories of “the mystery, the occult” remain true.

Wilding on the wooden beams one last time, Jeff Martin’s final acknowledgements almost drowned out by raucous applause, THE TEA PARTY continue to be as potent, intoxicating, and positively enchanting as they were, way back in 1999.

Photos by: Samuel Phillips
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